Awkward Love
by hardcorecaryl-er
Summary: After Daryl left Joe's group he found Tyreese, Carol, and Judith. Starting with one awkward night together, Daryl and Carol start slowly building on their romance. (Rated M mostly for language and light adult scenes)
1. Chapter 1

"Daryl?" Carol's voice woke him up in the middle of the night.

"Hmm" He heard her walking towards his bed. He was still too tired to lift his head and see what she was doing.

"Scoot over, I'm freezin' my ass off in there"

He scooted at her command. He hadn't exactly prepared himself for sharing a bed with her, but he was too tired to protest. He felt cool air hit his back when she pulled up a corner of the blanket. She cautiously climbed onto the spot where Daryl had moved from. She was thankful that it was still warm, she chose the room with the comfy bed but since the room was so poorly insulated it got really cold at night. She snuggled into the new, warmer, bed behind a half - sleeping Daryl.

Daryl hadn't exactly prepared himself for sharing a bed with her, not one bit. Since he actually got a real bed to sleep in this time he fell victim of his old sleeping habits, which weren't the best for surprise sleepovers. He had taken his shirt off the minute he entered the room for the night, so he was shirtless. That's not the end of it, he hadn't had a pair of pajama bottoms since he was about twelve and he hated sleeping in jeans so he wasn't necessarily wearing his pants either. He was wearing underwear, thank God, because he just never liked sleeping naked...made him feel like Merle (who slept naked almost his whole life). Although, he could have worn a different pair of underwear tonight, this pair was a disaster, it was full of dirt, there were holes all over it (which clearly showed his ass crack and most of his dick), and the elastic was shit so they could just fall off before Carol would even notice the rest of them.

That's when it sunk in, Carol is in bed with him, and he's half - naked. Fuck. Just fuck. Maybe she's too tired to notice? Then he thought, the marks. The marks that were scattered across his back. He could turn around. No, he couldn't, she'd be able to see his dick. Fuck. His heart was pounding in his chest as he panicked, he was wide awake now. Maybe he could sneak out of bed and put some clothes on. If Carol hasn't seen his ass hanging out already then she will if him getting up wakes her.

Luckily he was facing the side of the bed where his clothes were. He gently set his right foot on the floor and pulled himself out of the bed a little. He made sure he wasn't pulling on the covers as he put his other foot on the floor. One swift movement, he thought, he moved himself forward and caught himself on all fours, on the floor, in a pile of his clothes. He glanced up at Carol, who was soundly sleeping. He sighed in relief for not waking her. He quickly and quietly removed the belt from his pants to make them more sleepable then he put them on along with his shirt. He stood up in a huff, glad Carol was still sleeping. But he noticed before he grabbed the covers, she was curled up in a ball, shivering. She really was freezing her ass off. At the sight of her like that, he got that unfamiliar feeling in his chest. The same one that he feels when he sees her cry, or when he sees her face riddled with worry, or when he sees her stressing over something. It's vaguely similar to the feeling he gets when she smiles at him or when she flirts with him.

Trying to push this feeling aside, he gently got in bed beside her, this time facing her. Her shivering stopped but she was still sleeping in a ball. He watched her as she slept, trying to think of a way to make her more comfortable without making it awkward. He was bad at these kind of things, but he had to try. Besides, it's Carol, after Merle died, Carol became the one that knows him best. It shouldn't be too hard to comfort her, she's done it for him time and time again. He carefully scooted closer to her. Just as he was getting closer to her she moved in her sleep which startled him, making him jump. He sat up waiting to see if she'd wake up or not. Once he saw that she was still sleeping he put his head down. Since they had both moved Daryl's forehead was touching Carol's. The feel of her skin sent a sting to his chest. He liked it, having her this close to him, feeling her breath on his neck. He drifted off to sleep as he listened to the rhythm of her every breath.

* * *

Carol woke up with the sun shining on her back. She remembered coming to Daryl for warmth that night, she also remembered the tragic sight of his scars. She had swallowed her gasp for his sake. She wasn't even sure if he was completely awake when she came in. He may not even know she's there. Then she realized that in their sleep they had moved closer together. Daryl had his arms wrapped tightly around her and his cheek was pressed against hers. She was sure that she was literally stuck to his face. She eventually figured out the complete layout of how they were sleeping. Daryl actually had his right hand on her ass, their legs were tangled together, she had her arms around his neck, and she felt his breath on her boob. That last one wasn't that awkward but it meant his face was in that direction. If he knew he was doing that, touching her in those "certain places", or not, she wanted to save him the embarrassment, so she planned an elegant roll to the other side of the bed that would make it look like she was asleep. She started by stretching her arms away from his neck as she peeled her cheek away from his. Then she rolled over and he automatically moved his arms away. She faked sleeping for a few minutes before she got up.

He couldn't believe himself. He grabbed Carol's ass when they were sleeping. He had to just go through her awkwardly moving away from him. He was such an idiot. How could he think any of what happened here was a good idea? What you're supposed to do when a girl is cold is put your jacket on her, not feel her up. God, he felt so much like Merle.

He shut his eyes when Carol got up and walked out of the room. She was awake. He felt so stupid. He just keeps embarrassing himself around her.

"Oh my god...just...shit" he covered his face with his hands. He groaned into his hands. That chain of events was the perfect formula for awkward glances and Carol flirting. Just like she flirted more after he found her in the tombs. He'd say something like 'We should go inside now.' and she'd go 'Wanna carry me?'. It didn't bother him, he just got embarrassed.

* * *

Tyreese and Carol were preparing breakfast since they were up. When Daryl walked in Judith was reaching down from the highchair for a toy she dropped. He bent down and grabbed it for her. She just started chewing on it. Tyreese looked up and saw him there.

"Hey Daryl" Tyreese said in his usual cheery morning voice.

"Hmph" Daryl grunted in response.

"How'd ya sleep?" His happy voice made it sound like he knew about what happened.

"Hmph" Daryl grunted to him again as he sat down.

Judith started crying and Tyreese came to get her as he said "I got her". He's too happy in the morning.

Carol brought Daryl a plate of food after Tyreese left with the baby. He didn't make eye contact with her. She was about to leave but instead she said, "Don't worry I didn't feel you touching my ass"

He had a moment of relief as he almost fell for it. He slowly met her eyes and saw her wide grin. He moved his focus back to his plate and she patted his shoulder before getting her own plate.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Hey, so this chapter, unfortunately, is not as silly as the first. This is a very emotional chapter that digs into Daryl's past. Don't worry there is still CARYL feels!_**

* * *

It was two weeks after Carol had spent the night with Daryl. She couldn't sleep. She just laid in bed and stared at the ceiling. Judith had kept her up and so when she finally fell asleep, she slept all day. So she just couldn't fall asleep tonight.

The night was warm so she decided to sit in the backyard for a while. She made her way out of her dark room and into the hallway. She carefully walked down the stairs trying not to wake Judith. As she made her way through the kitchen she felt a rush of warm, outdoor air on her face. She walked up to the back door and saw that it was wide open. There was a feeling of panic before she noticed...

"Daryl? What are you doin' up?"

He turned around at her voice and looked up at her, then went back to leaning against the house. Without making eye contact, he said "Ya' know, I could ask you the same thing"

She waited for his eyes to meet hers and said "I couldn't sleep"

"How come?"

"I just couldn't" She walked onto the back steps and sat next to Daryl.

"Why are you up?"

He picked at some dry dirt on the steps, avoiding her eyes, "Bad dream" he mumbled.

Carol rested her arms on her knees and leaned her head on top, ready to talk to him all night if she had to. "How bad?"

He almost chuckled, then looked at her with that Dixon smirk "Real bad" he pulled his eyes away and returned his attention to the dirt on the stair.

Carol wasn't going to push it out of him. She knew enough about his past to know that he didn't wanna talk about his dreams. So she just watched him fiddle with the dirt.

"It was 'bout my dad" he grumbled towards her "and 'bout...Merle"

She recognized the way that he paused before saying Merle's name. She would do that before talking about Sophia. That pause meant that you were thinking about whether or not to remind yourself of the person you once had by your side.

"You miss him don't you?"

Daryl looked straight ahead into the backyard. Almost smiling, he said "I really shouldn't" he looked at Carol, who was watching his face for his emotion, and said "Ya' know how much of a dick he was ta' me when I was little? He used to...He...I was..."

Carol looked at his eyes, she couldn't tell if it was the reflection of the moon making his eyes look wet or if they really were wet. She didn't want to see him cry. She didn't like seeing him in pain in any way, if she watched him cry it would definitely make her cry and they would just be a mess.

She whispered "Did Merle ever-"

"No," he interrupted her "He never laid a hand on me. But...He used to...He'd...When I was six, that's when it started...He...He" He kept stumbling over the memories of his past. He took a deep breath. Then he let it spill, "When I was six, Merle was fifteen. He'd just started gettin' into drugs 'n' stuff. Mostly just got stoned. But it was different when he got drunk when he was stoned. Worse. It was worse when he was drunk. He'd...He'd call me into his room just to tell me..." He paused again "That I was worthless, that he didn't care 'bout me...N'fact he'd tell me exactly how much he hated me. He told me he was gonna kill me. That I didn't deserve shit...Once he said If anybody ever died for me, they'd go straight to hell for saving shit that obviously ain't worth it."

His voice cracked, and Carol looked through her tears to see if he was crying. He wasn't. He would get close, but he was strong.

"Ya' know what the worst part was?" He looked at her and she could see the pain written in his face.

"Hm?" She sniffed and wiped tears.

"That he didn't remember it in the morning. He didn't remember all that effort he made jus' to break me down. That he'd, that he'd laugh at me fer bein' scared of 'im the next day"

"Was that what happened in the dream?"

He shook his head "No. The dream was about a happier Merle" He looked at Carol and saw the curiosity in her eyes so he went on, "When I was three, Merle was goin' to this arcade to hang out with some of his friends. This arcade had like bouncy castles, real pizza, and good prizes. And outta nowhere he comes in the livin' room, while I'm eatin' my cheerios" He smiled when he caught Carol's smile about the cheerios. "He asked if I wanted to come with him. I got all excited and he brought me with 'im. He showed me off to all his friends, there were a lot of girls and I later realized that he mighta just brought me to look like a sweet guy to 'em. But I didn't care. I had fun...He acted like a real good brother. He helped me get in the bouncy castles that I couldn't reach on my own. Hell, he got in one a them castles with me jus' cuz I was havin' fun. He played all the arcade games while I sat in his lap and watched. He let me use the tickets for prizes. I was a hundred tickets away for a giant stuffed purple turtle and Merle haggled the guy to let me have it. Apparently soon after that I fell asleep and he carried me home."

She smiled at the thought of little Daryl. "That doesn't sound so bad..."

He mumbled "It was the best day of my life...That's prolly why I still remember it"

"If that's what your dream was about, then why are you out here?"

He sighed. "When I was sixteen I tried to kill myself seven times. Merle always caught me, stitched me, and put me to bed without a word."

Carol choked on tears "Why? Why would you?"

"When I was fourteen my dad was beatin' me mercilessly. I tried to yell at him. He got mad and pulled out his gun. He was sayin' shit like, he was gon' make a man outta me, gon' make me tough. So I pulled his hand, the one with the gun, and made the gun tough my head. I told him to do it. Told him to just get it over with and kill me. There was silence. Then he...laughed and walked away." He glanced at Carol's painful eyes "It took me two years to figure out that he walked away because I did exactly what he said. Askin' him to kill me was him finally makin' a man outta me. I didn't like that I did what he said, the bastard. That scene just haunted me for years and I couldn't take it anymore.."

Carol sat up and wiped away more tears, "Is that what it was? The dream."

He nodded, staring at the grass. Daryl realized that the sun was starting to rise as he heard birds chirping. He wiped the tired away from his face. He told Carol both the best and worst details of his life.

She sighed "I'm glad you didn't"

"Hm?" He looked at her with a puzzled look on his face.

"I'm glad you didn't kill yourself. I don't know what could've happened to me...without you...I've told you a million times that I need you right?"

He nodded. She had told him quite a lot that she needed him, and he was willing to stay with her.

She sniffed "We should go in...so much for sleep"

They walked back into the house, Daryl slowly trailing behind Carol.

"Sometimes I kinda wonder if the world would be better off without me here..."

At his words Carol turned around and threw her arms around him.

"Don't talk like that. There is no way the world would be better without you"

He wrapped his arms around her and they stood silently in the sunlight.

Carol sniffed, "C'mon" she grabbed his hands, "I've got about an hour left to sleep and you're coming with me"

He felt panic in his chest, but he knew that he had to trust her to comfort him.


	3. Chapter 3

Daryl woke up the way he fell asleep. He was spooning Carol and he was holding her hands, well, more like she was holding his hands. He realized that all the talk about his childhood was making her sad. He really didn't want to make her sad. He had that sting in his chest all night from seeing her cry. He was just so bad at carrying on conversations. What if his stories were really just making her pity him? He worried over and over again that she didn't really care. No one else did. Merle had raised him to believe that. Maybe Merle thought that if he taught Daryl that no one cared, then he could better protect himself from all the pain that comes with caring. That was it, Daryl realized. Merle was taking care of him the way that he knew how, by telling him no one cared. That way, Daryl wasn't supposed to be hurt by losing people. Because he wouldn't have people to lose. Daryl also realized, Merle had raised himself this way up until Daryl was born. Then he sacrificed that way of life, the way Dixons protect their hearts, because he cared about Daryl. Merle had to protect his baby brother, so he abandoned the thoughts that no one cared.

Carol was awake in Daryl's arms. She knew he was awake. It was mostly the way he breathed. Something must be bothering him, she could feel his heart pounding against her back. She decided to see what was bothering him. She squeezed his hands and leaned her head back in his direction.

"What's wrong, Daryl?"

"Nothin'" he lied.

"You still thinkin' about your brother? " He nodded into her shoulder.

She kissed his hand, "Poor pookie" and smiled at him.

He felt his cheeks flush red and he heard her giggling. He really loved hearing that sound. Carol pulled away from Daryl

"I'm goin' downstairs to make you breakfast, you stay here"

"Carol you don't have to-"

"We are not discussing it. You stay there", With that she left the room, closing the door behind her.

He laid in her bed and relived what just happened in his head. He was shocked that she was willing to make him breakfast. He hadn't eaten actual breakfast in months. Carol kissing him had actually startled him. She was better than him, she had to know that. So why did she do this stuff for him? He didn't understand what she thought about him. All he knew was that she was the most important person in the world to him.

* * *

Carol was looking through the kitchen for something to make Daryl for breakfast. The only breakfast - worthy food was a can of peaches. Tyreese had picked apples and pears from the trees in the yard to possibly make baby food for Judith. So Carol cut up an apple and a pear and put them in a bowl. She emptied the can of peaches on top of them and figured that that's as good as it was gonna get. She grabbed the bowl and brought it up to Daryl. It wasn't the best thing but Daryl barely ate so it should be fine.

She slowly opened the door to her room and hoped Daryl was still there. She was happy to still see him laying in her bed.

She smiled at him. "Here, it's just fruit, but we don't exactly have a variety..."

But Daryl didn't care. He held out his hands for the bowl. He didn't realize how hungry he was in the morning.

"I didn't overcook it did I?" She said as she sat on the bed.

He smiled at her joke, "Well I hope not cuz yer eatin' some of it too" he said with a smirk. She giggled at him. He still loved that sound.

Carol reached over and pulled an apple slice out of the bowl. "I think I made it pretty well...the apples are supposed to be for baby food ya' know"

"Well if you gave it to me I'd prolly still eat it", that was the truth. He'd eat dirt if she gave it to him and called it a meal. It'd probably taste pretty good too.

"I don't think so..."

"No seriously...Everything you make tastes good" he embarrassingly moved his focus to the bowl of fruit.

Carol snuck her hand in the bowl and grabbed a piece of peach. "I just put it in the bowl Daryl"

Daryl started laughing at the face she made at him and she started laughing at the fact that he was actually laughing.

* * *

Tyreese fell asleep on the couch since he had been taking care of Judith all morning. Daryl and Carol didn't mind, they had kinda been leaving him with all the baby responsibilities. Carol had crushed up some of the other pieces of fruit leftover and made baby food for Judith. She was sitting at the table with Judith in her lap, feeding her spoonfuls of crushed pears and peaches. She seemed to be happily eating it...until she threw up all over herself.

"Aw, Daryl can you take her for a minute"

Without waiting for a response, a whiney little Judith was put in Daryl's lap. He pulled her pukey onsie off so it could be cleaned and she would maybe stop crying. He picked her up and walked over to Carol who was washing the baby vomit off her hands.

"Here" he handed her the onsie and she started washing it in the sink.

He bounced Judith in his arms, which had made her laugh before. It obviously wasn't helping because she threw up all over herself and Daryl.

"

Aw...Just aw...C'mon lil' ass kicker...I just put this shirt on!" He looked at Carol, who was stifling laughter.

"You best not be laughing at me!" He watched her smile grow "Alright, what, get it over with"

"Now you both need a bath" She could barely say it because of her overwhelming giggles.

"You're lucky I think it's cute when you laugh"


	4. Chapter 4

Daryl was gathering his crossbow and cleaning his arrows. They were running low on food so he was going hunting. Carol had been bugging him all day about going with him, but he eventually convinced her to stay with Tyreese and Judith. She still wasn't happy about it though. It was nothing against Carol but she isn't the best at walking quietly. She can sneak around a walker, but she sends rodents running. Of course, he didn't tell her this, (he told her that she would distract him). She took this as a compliment and said he could only go by himself if he promised to be safe and not go very far.

"Do I have a curfew too?" He smiled while jokingly asking her.

She sighed, "Just don't keep me worried overnight"

* * *

He made his way into the kitchen where Carol was washing a few dishes.

"I'm goin' now" he said as he adjusted the crossbow on his back.

"Alright" she didn't look at him.

He started to walk out the back door. He was a little disappointed that she wasn't stalling so he couldn't leave right away. He almost wanted her to stop him from going at all. He didn't understand these feelings.

"Daryl wait"

He did a lot not to smile at her voice. He stepped back into the kitchen "Yeah?"

"...Stay safe" she weakly smiled at him.

"I will" he told her gently.

Then he slowly walked out the door.

Daryl had been out in the forest for a couple of hours. He had two squirrel carcasses on his belt. He was tracking a deer for a while, but a walker must've spooked it because it ran off. So currently he was following a trail of rabbit prints.

He eventually found his rabbit. It was staring at him. Which just meant he had to move his crossbow slower. He already had it partially raised, so he just had to lift it a little and pull the trigger. But the rabbit had other plans as it hopped up and got its leg impaled by an arrow.

It was just flailing on the ground so Daryl had to go stab it. It tried dragging itself away from Daryl's knife so he had to pull it back. As he pulled it back it bit his palm.

"Ah, shit!"

He stuck the knife in its head and sucked on the freshly bloody cut on his hand.

He figured out a way to shove the rabbit on his belt with the squirrels. His hand stung so he just shoved it in his pocket. It was the middle of the afternoon and the sun was starting to turn orange, so he decided to head back home.

* * *

After Carol finished the dishes, she decided that while she was still at the sink, that she would give Judith a bath. Judith splashed bubbly water all over Carol and seemed to be having a hell of a time.

Tyreese smiled and said "I don't think I've ever heard her giggle that much"

"She's finding this very entertaining" Carol smiled at the baby's smiley face.

"Least she ain't cryin'" he kept smiling at the two of them.

"Can you go grab a towel for her?"

Tyreese went and found one of the fluffiest towels they had and brought it to Carol. She dried of the, now squirming baby.

Tyreese drained the sink so Carol could finish cleaning up Judith. She put a clean diaper and a clean pair of footies on a very crabby Judith.

"Whatsa matter baby?" She spoke in her higher pitched baby voice.

Judith just whined in response.

"Okay, well I'm just gonna put you down for a nap then" She carried Judith to her crib and gave her a pacifier.

That seemed to calm her down so Carol left her to nap.

* * *

Carol and Tyreese were sitting in the living room and talking about things that they needed to do. Things like raids and they talked about terminus. Carol didn't want to leave, but she knew it was best.

She heard Daryl walk in the back and she got up to see what he brought. Daryl pulled the carcasses from his belt and gave them to Tyreese, who had recently learned how to skin animals. It gave Daryl less work to do. As he handed the animals to Tyreese, Carol noticed his bloody hand. He usually gets bloody when he hunts but she saw the cuts. She panicked a little as she grabbed his hand and examined the cuts. Tyreese had already left the room so he didn't see her grab Daryl's hand, which saved Daryl some embarrassment.

"What happened? " Carol asked with a little too much worry in her voice.

"That damn little fucker bit me. It burns" He nodded towards Tyreese and the mess of animals on the table.

"The squirrel?"

"No the rabbit...He's an asshole" Carol sighed, relieved it wasn't serious. Then she was holding back a little bit of laughter as she had a thought.

He sighed "What is it now?"

She quietly giggled, "Daryl got bit by a bunny..."

"Yeah, yeah laugh at me" He tried to walk away but carol was still holding onto his hand.

"You're gonna let me clean that"

"I am?"

"Yes. Your blood - dripping hand scared me half to death" She sat him in a chair at the counter. "Now wait here"

She was gone for a few minutes, scavenging for bandaids so they didn't have to use gauze. She came back with a big smile on her face and two boxes of bandaids behind her back.

"Oh God, what'd you do?"

She giggled, "Nothin'" She hid the bandaids under her side of the counter as she grabbed a clean rag and some neosporin. As she cleaned his cut she said, "So tell me how exactly you were bitten by this ravenous bunny"

He smiled at her wording. "Tried to shoot its head, but I missed for the leg. I grabbed it to stab it and the fucker bit me- Ah! Dammit Carol, that stuff stings!"

"Sorry" but she was smiling.

"Stop smilin'"

"I can't help it..." She finished cleaning his cut and she reached for the bandaids. "Ok, do you want", she held up the first box "Hello Kitty? Or do you want", she held up the second box "Spongebob? "

He sighed and turned red. "That why you were laughin'?"

She giggled uncontrollably and nodded.

Once she calmed down she said "Ok, ok, since you're a boy, I'll give you spongebob"

"Carol..."

She put one bandaid on but he needed about four. She was laughing too hard to do the rest.

"Carol just give it to me" Her laughter made him laugh so he didn't put them on any better.

Once he had the bandaids on she casually held his hand and tried to calm down. Once they were both calm, Carol told him about what she did all day, including the Judith bath extravaganza. And he told her about how close he got to bringing back a deer. She also told him that they might have to leave soon, which kinda upset him, he liked it here. Carol started laughing again when she looked at his hand with the spongebob bandaids, the one she was holding.

"Hey you picked em!"

"It's not that. It's just..."

"What?"

She smiled widely, "Bunnies are trying to eat my Daryl"

She giggled as he turned red. She had called him_hers._


	5. Chapter 5

Ever since Carol called Daryl hers, his dreams have been more pleasant. They were mostly about Carol. Good things. Not like the nightmares he'd have about losing her. These dreams made him happy. They made it a little awkward talking to Carol, or just being around her. But the only other thing that occupied his mind and gave him a distraction was that the water only worked downstairs because of a stupid broken pipe that bugged the shit out of him.

It really did bother him. They couldn't use the bathroom upstairs and that was the only bathroom. Judith could take baths, but nobody else fit in the sink. And they still had to go to the bathroom outside, which was just uncomfortable. Daryl bursted into the living room and started going through drawers in the desk by the window.

Tyreese was confused at this random behavior of his, "What are you doin'?"

"Lookin'"

He paused. "What for?"

"Screwdriver, wrench, pliers, duct tape...Tools. I'm looking for tools."

"Duct tape isn't a tool" Carol chimed in as she carried Judith downstairs. The baby was cranky from a nap.

"Duct tape solves all problems. Duct tape could've prevented World War II"

"What?" Tyreese said, still confused.

"It means duct tape is good."

Carol was giggling a little "And how could it have prevented World War II?"

"It just could have!" He found the duct tape he was looking for and went to fix the bathroom problem.

* * *

"I have done it!" Daryl triumphantly yelled as he ran downstairs, tripping on the last few steps.

Carol walked out of the kitchen in a slight panic, "Daryl, Tyreese and Judith are sleeping! Now what are you screaming about?"

"Duct tape solved the problem!"

"Daryl, stop being loud. What problem are you talking about?"

"Just c'mere" He grabbed her hand and lead her up the stairs.

He had gotten used to holding her hand. Its usually because she grabs his hand. It's almost always when he's not paying attention.

Carol wasn't used to him grabbing her hand but it didn't bother her any. She had opened him up a lot since she lost Sophia. It was most likely that he was only doing it to make her feel better but she didn't mind. She liked it.

"Watch" he said once they got to the bathroom door. He walked to the shower and turned on the water. "And its warm"

She just stared desperately at the water as steam started to float away from it.

"Daryl"

"Hm" he still had his hand in the water.

"Get out"

"Hm?" He looked at her, once it clicked in his head he pulled his hand out of the water and left her to shower.

* * *

Judith woke up with a dirty diaper and Tyreese was still sleeping so Daryl had to change her. He couldn't find her bag.

He forgot that Carol had recently been in the shower and so he walked in her room like he usually does. Except Carol was changing.

He walked in saying "Hey Carol where's Ass Kicker's-" And when he noticed that she wasn't wearing pants he closed the door and turned red.

He covered his face with his hands and slid onto the floor. Asshole, he thought. Why has he never knocked on a door?

"Her bag is next to the couch" he heard her voice through the door.

He made his way to Judith's bag and as he was changing her diaper, he remembered seeing long jagged scars down her legs. It had to have been Ed. That just bothers him. Why would anyone hurt that beautiful woman? He didn't realize that he stopped moving until Judith started crying.

He mumbled "Sorry Ass Kicker" and put her in her crib.

He was angry and humiliated so he just went to his room and sat on his bed. He was so angry, why is he such an ass?

Then, to his surprise, Carol walked in (except she knocked first) and, without a word, sat next to him on his bed. He just looked down, turning red.

"You saw it" She mumbled at him.

He felt like crying. He hated Ed right now. He hated himself right now. He just felt terrible.

She went on, "It was Ed. It was after I told him that I was pregnant...He went out and drank. He came back wasted out of his mind. Then...he started hittin' me. He stopped to throw up so I tried to get away. He grabbed onto me and...he...he pulled me back...and...he drew blood...and-"

He grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. She was almost going to cry and he just couldn't watch her cry after all that. And what Ed did to her...he wanted to hit something. He wanted to punch a wall. He'd done that before when he was pissed at Merle. It works pretty well too. Hugging Carol seemed to also work though...

"I'm sorry" She mumbled into his chest.

"What are you sorry for? I'm the one that's sorry"

"Cuz you got mad when I told you all that. I can tell cuz your heartbeat sounds all mad" she spoke weakly.

"I'm not mad...not at you" He kissed her hair. "Stay here"

She understood that he wanted her to sleep with him. She wrapped her arms tightly around him. The sound of his heartbeat soothed her to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

He was holding her hand when she woke up. She was glad that she stayed with him. She rolled over to see if he was still sleeping. He was just waking up and rubbing his eyes. He smiled when he saw her.

"Hey" He spoke softly to her.

"Hi" She returned his smile. "I forgot we're 'sposed to leave today"

They did have it planned to leave that day. Daryl still wasn't too excited about that. But they all agreed to go, so they had to move on.

"We should probly get up then. We'll need the daylight. "

"Ok" She stretched and got up. She had bad dreams about Ed, but they didn't wake her up so she pretended that they weren't bothering her. Daryl followed her out of the room to gather their things and leave.

* * *

"Ima' check Judith's room t'see if we left anything up there" Daryl said as everyone was getting ready to leave.

He walked into her room and looked around for any of her little baby things. He looked through drawers, which were empty except for a sharpie. He took the sharpie for whatever reason necessary. Once he was done looking for anything they left behind, he looked at her crib. Then he looked at the sharpie in his hand. He wrote on one of the bars in all capital letters:

LIL ASS KICKER

"What are you doing?"

He turned around and saw Carol holding Judith in the doorway.

"Well...if Rick ever came here...It'd probly be good to know she's alive" Carol smiled at him. And almost as if she knew what was going on, Judith reached for Daryl.

He grabbed her from Carol and she held his vest with he little baby hands.

Carol couldn't help but keep smiling, she thought it was so cute when Daryl held Judith.

"C'mon, we're ready downstairs" They went downstairs and said their last goodbyes to this house.

* * *

They didn't realize how dark it had gotten. Judith was sleeping on Daryl's shoulder and he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. He didn't sleep the night before. He was watching Carol. After what she told him about Ed, he just felt extra protective of her, even though he was dead. He wasn't paying attention when Tyreese and Carol stopped walking and he walked into Carol's back.

She weakly smiled back at him "Tired Daryl?"

He yawned and nodded.

"We could stop here for the night" Tyreese said and without a word Daryl was preparing his area for the night.

So with Daryl's lead, Tyreese and Carol sat on the ground, they'd both keep watch for a while until one of them wanted to sleep. Daryl fell asleep within minutes, with Judith soundly sleeping on his chest. Carol didn't notice this scene, because she was talking to Tyreese, until Tyreese stopped talking and just watched them. Then Carol looked over and covered her smile with her hand.

She moved her hand away "That. Is the cutest. Most adorable. Thing. I have ever seen. In my entire life." Tyreese was smiling at her reaction "I wish I had a camera"

"Lucky for you I may or may not have stolen this from Glenn's cell" he tossed her the camera that Glenn raided from Big Spot.

She happily gasped at his steal. Then, like she was being timed, she quickly snapped a picture of the two. "Thankfully we built the fire, or you wouldn't be able to see this at all"

She tossed the camera back "Don't tell him" she whispered, then they both giggled.

Tyreese yawned, "Will you be okay if I sleep? "

She nodded. "This will keep me awake" She pointed towards sleeping Daryl and Judith.

Tyreese smiled and went to sleep.

* * *

They had started moving on once Daryl was awake. He didn't seem to know why Carol kept smiling at him. Judith woke up before Daryl did so Carol had to take her. They kept to the train tracks until it started to get dark again. Then they trailed off to find a house to stay in.

* * *

They raided a little house that had two bedrooms. Tyreese offered to stay with Judith. So Daryl was looking through the other room, the one that he would be sharing with Carol. He wanted it to be nice for her, after all she's been through, she deserves it.

All day after the adorableness with Daryl and Judith had stopped distracting her, she had been having flashbacks of Ed. They had put her in a very depressed mood so she went to find Daryl. When she entered the room, his back was to her and he was messing with something. She sat on the bed and realized that he was scrolling through an ipod.

The ipod he found was off, and it must've been since the walkers arrived because it had full battery. There was a small speaker on the desk that just needed to be plugged into the ipod, not the wall. So he plugged it in and picked a song to play (quietly).

The music started playing.

_Yesterday I died, Tomorrow's bleeding._

_Fall into your sunlight._

_The future's open wide, beyond believing._

_To know why, hope dies._

_Losing what was found, a world so hollow._

_Suspended in a compromise._

_The silence of this sound, is soon to follow._

_Somehow, sundown._

Carol watched as he put on music. What was he doing? But she realized as he held out his hands to her, he must've noticed that she was sad, he was trying to dance with her.

She grabbed his hands and he pulled her up. He awkwardly placed his hands on her hips as she put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. He really didn't know how to do this, so he gently swayed with her, hoping it would pass as dancing. She didn't seem to notice his lack of experience so he went on with this.

And just as the chorus started, in the perfect moment, as the guitar started playing, and as the words changed almost to their story, Carol placed her hand on his chin and guided his lips to hers. They stopped swaying. Stood perfectly still. They kissed. They just kissed. She welcomed the taste of his tongue and he welcomed hers. He held her closer to him and she held him closer to her. Neither of them ever imagined this scene to be this perfect. They kept their perfect moment going as the chorus repeated.

_And I've lost who I am, and I can't understand._

_With my heart so broken, rejecting your love, without, love gone wrong, lifeless words carry on._

_But I know, all I know, is that the end's beginning._

_Who I am from the start, take me home to my heart._

_Let me go and I will run, I will not be silent._

_All this time spent in vain, wasted years, wasted gain._

_All is lost, hope remains, and this war's not over._

_There's a light, there's a sun, taking all the shattered ones._

_To the place we belong, and his love will conquer all._


End file.
